1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a wear-resistant material and a method for producing the same, a puffer cylinder and a puffer-type gas circuit breaker, and in particular, to a wear-resistant material, suitable for use in one formed of pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, aluminum or an aluminum alloy for use in a slide member is material susceptible to wear due to a sliding-movement, and therefore, application of the alumite treatment, a plating treatment, or a variety of coatings thereto is well known.
A puffer-type gas circuit breaker for electric power represents an example of an apparatus using aluminum or an aluminum alloy as a slide member. The puffer-type gas circuit breaker for electric power includes a stationary contactor, a movable contactor arranged capable of contacting with and separating from the stationary contactor, a puffer cylinder linked with the movable contactor, a piston making a relative movement against an inner-wall surface of the puffer cylinder, a puffer chamber having a suction hole for sucking in the arc-extinguishable gas and a blast nozzle for spurting the same in the direction of the contactor, a wearing slidably-movable against the inner-wall surface of the puffer cylinder, provided on the outer periphery of the piston a vessel filled up with an arc-extinguishable gas which houses the above components, and the puffer-type gas circuit breaker being made up such that the arc-extinguishable gas that is spurted from the blast nozzle is sprayed to an arc generated upon the stationary contactor and the movable contactor coming in contact with, or separating from each other to thereby extinguish the arc.
With the puffer-type gas circuit breaker made up as described above, pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy is often used in the puffer cylinder for the purpose of reduction in weight. However, pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy is a material which is susceptible to wear, as described above. Thus, a variety of surface treatments are applied at times to a slide member in order to prevent the wear of the slidably-movable part.
For example, there is described a technique in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. S63(1988)-184223), as a technique for enhancement of the wear-resistance of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. In this publication, it is described that a puffer cylinder, an operation rod, and a presser plate are each formed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and the coat of aluminum oxide, formed by the alumite treatment, is provided on respective portions of these components, coming in contact with each other.
Further, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-277014), it is described that a coating layer of an amorphous carbon or a diamond-like carbon, as material that is wear-resistant and low in frictional properties, is formed on a slidable surface, which slidably moves against a seal-rod, of a seal-member made of a synthetic rubber or fluororesin, for slidably supporting the seal-rod at a penetration part of a gas vessel to thereby prevent an arc-extinguishable gas in the gas vessel from flowing out towards a manipulation-mechanism.
Still further, in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-258137), it is described that a silicone grease having lubricity is applied to the outer peripheral surface of a cylinder that slidably moves at the time when a stationary arc-contactor comes in contact with, or separates from a movable arc-contactor in order to reduce friction.
However, with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described as above, in order to enhance wear resistance of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, the alumite treatment is applied to the respective portions of the puffer cylinder, the operation rod, and the presser plate, coming in contact with each other, and although an alumite coat formed by the alumite treatment is excellent in corrosion resistance and wear resistance, anodic oxidation is required in the alumite treatment, so that the cost of electric power required by facilities will increase, and in the case of using sulfuric acid, facilities for waste-water treatment will be required, thereby posing a cost problem.
Further, with the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 described as above, the wear-resistance of a slide member is enhanced by coating with the material low in frictional properties such as the amorphous carbon or the diamond-like carbon, however, these being the coating formed by the high-frequency plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method, if the method is to be applied to a puffer cylinder, a vacuum apparatus having a capacity capable of processing the puffer cylinder will be required.
Still Further, in the case of the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3 described as above, because the silicone grease having lubricity is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder serving as the slidably-movable part, there is the need for taking degradation of the silicone grease into consideration if the silicone grease is in use for a long time-period, thereby necessitating periodical maintenance.
The present invention has been developed in view of those points described as above, and it is therefore an object of the invention to provide a wear-resistant material excellent in wear resistance, available at a low cost, a method producing the same, a puffer cylinder, and a puffer-type gas circuit breaker.